Cascade Crest 100 Race Report

I'm writing this six days after the race which has given me some time to ponder the happenings of the 29+ hour event from my own perspective and that of my crew and pacers. You won't get a blow-by-blow breakdown of the race, I don't feel like doing that. Instead, I'll try to hit the hightlights in hopes of giving you an idea what it took being a novice ultrarunner completing such a difficult event. With that said, I'm sure I'll ramble as I had an absolute blast at this race.

The terrain of the area. Courtesy of Glen Tachiyama

Three-fifths of the crew were up and ready to go from our campground at Easton Lake State Park on Saturday morning.



Crew going over some last minute details

 Lindsay (Lu), Mat and crew chief Laura made sure I had anything I needed to get the party started and Luke and Rob would meet up at Hyak around 8:00pm to join the rest of the crew. Lu even supplied me with a B-vitamin shot to keep my energy high for the race. This would turn out to be the worst pain of the race until I sprained my ankle. I almost passed out!


PAIN

 It was also great to have everybody (Mom, Dad, Uncle Dan and Valerie) at the start line and before I knew it I was off and running.

Rock Stars having some breakfast at the start line

My plan was to run very conservatively for the first day/night and then, if I still had some energy, I would push it when the sun came up. Therefore, I was on a very easy 28-hr pace for the first 53 miles. I won't give all the details but this course goes up, down, repeat for 40,000+ feet and 96 miles. All with unstable footing and angled single-track that makes you feel like one leg is longer. I was actually wishing I wasn't wearing the Hoka Mafates because they just aren't made for that type of angled trail. My ankles got bruised and worked from the get go and if I had to do it all over again I'd probably go with something more laterally stable. Then again, my quads feel great so who really knows. When we finally hit the PCT after the climb up Goat Peak I was truly in trail running heaven. I really wanted to let my fresh legs loose and rip through the wildflowers with Mt. Rainier as the backdrop but I stayed true and shuffled around a 12 min/mile pace enjoying the views.



I came into mile 23, Tacoma Pass, where I met my crew for the first time (here's a link to me coming into mile 23 from Glen Tachiyama's website of pictures http://www.pbase.com/gtach/image/137642698). As a crew you never know what to expect after your runner just ran a mountainous marathon so you kind of expect the worst and hope for the best. Well, I was feeling great even though I ran out of gels and water about 45 minutes prior. It was a HOT day but my training in Raleigh really helped out here (not so much with the mountain part). I was AMAZED at my crew, especially with two rookie crew members. These guys grabbed my bag and started loading up gels, water, S-caps and feeding me all in one swoop. I swear Mat even changed a tire and filled up the SUV next to us with gas just because he got caught up in the moment. This group was A+ the entire race and I'd put them up against any crew at any race. It was actually quite comical for me to come in and see how efficient they worked. They made my job look easy!




The pit crew loading me up with gels and water. Efficient, fast, clockwork!



Had me on my way in just a couple minutes.

After this A/S it was more trail running porn through a few more A/S until nightime fell and the real fun began. I was still feeling great and loved being in the dark dark old growth forests of the Cascades. Surprisingly, I ran by myself for about 6 hours through this whole section until I stumbled upon a French runner who was a little loopy running the wrong way saying he couldn't find the trail. It turns out he had jumped into a lake on accident and I'm pretty sure he was a little hypothermic. I found the elusive trail for us and ran with him for the next few miles to make sure he was ok. I would later see him again around mile 60 bonked with stomach issues. I shot him some ginger pills and eventually saw him finish arond 31 hours. What a trooper! Right before they 53 mile A/S where I would pick up my pacer for the first time I rolled my ankle pretty bad. I started going a little loopy here as it was about 12:30AM and sort of shrugged it off and ran into my crew. I apparently let crew chief Laura know that I rolled my ankle but didn't think anything of it. I loaded up on some butt-glide in the crack and headed out with Rob, my first pacer.



Changing shoes and socks at mile 53. It was pretty dusty that first half.

 I had never met Rob before the race. However, he embodies everything that is ultra running. Unselfish, willing to help anybody and addictingly positive. It was a pleasure to run the ridge with him and we even enjoyed a few moments under the moonless, starlit sky. For instance, I took my only bm during the entire race under Rob's watch. I shared Rob with two separate solo runners who were WAY loopy and just wanting to fall asleep on the trail. Rob ran with each of them for a few minutes making sure they were well fed and hydrated before catching back up with me. I learned his favorite candy bar is a PayDay and he learned that I always finish in the middle of the pack at any race I enter because I'm slower than the fast people but faster than the slow people. It made more sense at 2AM after 65 miles. Overall, this section was the last 'running' section that I had because my rolled ankle decided to blow up. However, at the time I thought it was shin splints. So, I headed out with Lu on the Trail from Hell letting her know that i could run well because of my right shin.

I've known Lu for a long time and she comes from a background of competitive D-I 800m running. I say this because she was absolutely the most competitive person on the mountain this day. "I see two people up there Ryan, let's go catch them". I'd give her my best smile and then proceed to hobble down any technical sections because I couldn't bend my ankle without shooting pain up my right shin. Even with this, we managed to pass a few groups since my power hiking was really solid and my ability to climb under all the blowdown due to my gnome-like size was very advantageous. We cruised into the A/S feeling really good except for my shin. Lu started pulling on my ankle to stretch my shinsplint that was keeping me from running which made it feel a little better at which point I made the 2-mile trek to the top of the hill where I met up with the crew and Luke, my pacer for the last 25 miles. Three marathons down, one to go. I was mentally still really strong. My stomach was solid all day and I was eating and drinking perfect. In fact, my legs were feeling great except for this damn shin splint keeping me from running. So even though the sun was up and my gameplan was to start pushing the pace, I just couldn't. Luke and I headed off on my hands-on-knees powerhike at about a 17 min/mile.

A few miles down the road I looked down to my shin and realized that my ankle was swollen so much that it was mushroomed over the top of my right shoe and I couldn't really see my shoe laces on the top of my shoe. Hmmmm, turns out my shin splint was actually a horrible ankle sprain. I initially thought that I might not be able to finish but I told Luke to prepare for a long trek with a gimp. He smiled and said 'you got this buddy, doing great'. I knew he was lying as I was barely able to do anything down the technical hills which is 50% of what we had left. The pain was almost unbearable and made Lu's VitaminB shot seem like childsplay.  However, Luke just kept moving in front of me, calling out all the roots and rocks for me and telling me I was doing great. He even told me I could still make it under 30 hours if I kept my power hike strong. That gave me something to focus on over the course of the next 8 hours. From this point on I sort of zoned out to take my mind off the pain and just followed Luke. I was mentally strong and kept eating and drinking, I just couldn't put much weight on my right ankle. This was the only time the entire race that I got a little pissed. I felt so good that I wanted to run all the sweet single-track. Afterall, this is why I went out so conservatively but now I'm stuck with this gimpy powerhike. Once I got out of my self-pity I enjoyed the views and accepted the challenge of sub-30 hours and enjoyed the company of a guy that is more a brother than a friend. It was a hell of a gut check for both of us but we managed to roll into the final A/S at mile 96 where we got to pick up crew chief Laura for the last 4 miles. She was all smiles and ready to rock. This last section is the only flat section of the whole course. However, there are little 2 foot rolling hills for the first mile that would be no problem on healthy ankles but holy hell did they hurt. Laura just kept positive. We ended up power hiking the last four miles at about a 16 min/mile clip with Laura being super positive the whole time, making sure I kept eating and drinking. Luke kept with us but I'm pretty sure he was bonking a little after leaving all his energy on the trail pulling me through those last difficult miles. We all were able to shuffle-run the last half mile through the finish line in 29 hours 37 minutes to finish my first 100 up in the mountains of the Cascades.




Coming in around mile 99.7 with Laura leading the way and Luke there to pick up any carnage.



A sorry attempt at a strong finish

Big Mat with a congratulations and me with a big Thank You!

Crew chief, Pacer and MVP of the race walking me in to the firehall

Seriously, BEST CREW EVER!!!!!



And not bad looking either :) We got the buckle!!!!

We hung out in the fire hall for about an hour, I went hypothermic when we got back to camp so Lu and Mat put an IV in me and Luke wrapped my ankle all while I slept in my sleeping bag for a few hours. It took a couple days to overcome that "chilled" feeling and I'm feeling pretty strong now. My muscles all feel great and I just need to get my ankle healthy again. Overall, this is a fantastic race and embodies what ultramarathons should be. I look forward to being active in this race in one way or another going forward.




Even with the race over the crew just keeps on crewing




what a sprained ankle looks like after running on it for 50+ miles

Shout outs:
1. This race would not have been so succesful for me without my crew and pacers. Crew chief Laura put up with me and my OCD issues for 8 months while I prepared for this race. She was amazing and I thank her for that. Mat, Luke, Lu and Rob...thanks for the unselfish act of giving up your weekend to stay awake and deal with a zombie for 29 hours. You guys are the best!
2. Mom and Dad, thanks for hauling the trailer up and supporting me throughout the race even though I know I kept you up worrying while I ran through the night by myself in the woods. It was awesome having you guys cheering me on at the finish line. I think momma might have even run with me a few steps at the end!
3. Uncle Dan and Valerie, thanks for putting up with the I-90 noise for a couple nights to support us all in this adventure. Having you guys at the finish line were a site for tired eyes!
4. Charlie Crissman, hell of an event!
5. James, thanks for the ride from the airport.

Lastly, sometimes I just don't have any words

Happy running to all